From the library
Managing the Professional Service Firm
David Maister, 1993
In one paragraph
David Maister's definitive guide to managing consulting, law, accounting, and other professional service organizations. Covers the unique challenges of managing knowledge workers, building client relationships, and creating sustainable competitive advantages in service-based businesses.
Also tagged
Where this sits in the operating system
People & Relationships
Systems Over Goals
Continuous Improvement & Feedback Loops
Key insights
Leverage is the economics of the firm: the ratio of junior to senior determines what work you can profitably take.
Brains, grey hair and procedure are three different businesses with incompatible staffing and pricing. Most firms run all three and price as one.
Client satisfaction is driven by the relationship far more than the technical output, which practitioners consistently refuse to believe.
Recognise it early
The failure and the correction sit side by side deliberately. Read the left column asking whether any of it is already true of you.
Managing professionals like other employees instead of knowledge workers
Competing primarily on price instead of expertise and value
Maximizing billable hours without investing in professional development
Focusing on individual performance without building organizational knowledge
Managing for short-term revenue without building sustainable client relationships
The same idea, argued differently
Peter Drucker
Ryan Daniel Moran
Ryan Deiss
Frank Slootman
The full breakdown
Before you close this
Naming the specific moment you will act roughly doubles the odds you do.
Reference
- Author
- David Maister
- Published
- 1993
- Category
- Business
We value your privacy
We use cookies to enhance your experience, analyze site traffic, and personalize content. You can manage your preferences or learn more in our Privacy Policy.